Spray gun



March 29 1960 J. P. MALEY EI'AL SPRAY GUN Filed July 10, 1956 SPRAY GUN" Joseph P. Maley, Brechsville, and Steve M. Scott Parma, Ohio, assignors to Cletus Meyer, Par-ma, Ghzo Application July 10, 1956, Serial No. 597,003

s claimsa (Cl. 239-434) The present invention relates generally asindicated to a: spray gun, and more particularly to a spray gun for spraying lubricant, anti-sticking compound, or other liquid into the dies of die casting machines, forging presses, drawing presses, stamping presses, tire curing presses, etc.

In the prior art spray guns with which we are familiar, the same must first be operated in one position to spray one of the complementary dies and then turned to'spray the other die. Furthermore, in the event of clogging of the liquid or air spray orifices, much time is consumed in the clearing out of the clogged orifices or in replacing of orifice containing element of the spray gun.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of our invention to provide a spray gun of the character indicated which is operative to simultaneously spray the opposed, complementary dies of. presses or machines such as those mentioned above.

It is another object of this invention to provide-asimplified and efiicient form of nozzle for a spray gun which is. inexpensive to manufacture and which can be quickly removed for cleaning or replacement.

It is another object of this invention to provide a spray gun in which the oppositely directed sprays issuing therefrom for simultaneous spraying of'opposed dies are each directed slightly away fromthe operator while-yet the spray nozzle is straight and symmetrical and is formed with opposite coaxial atomizing pockets.-

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spray gun being mounted at one end of a pair of conduits which constitute a handle for manipulating the spray gun;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section view (on an enlarged scale) of the spray gun, such cross-section having been taken substantially along the line 2- Fig. 1 (also line 2-2, Fig.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section view taken substantially along the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the Fig. 4 spray nozzle; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-section view taken substantially along the line 6-6, Fig. 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is provided a spray gun body 1 formed with ports 2 and 3 on one side to which air and liquid conduits 4 and 5 9 ice respectively are-connected-,the air conduit 4 having installed therein a conventional lever-operated valve 6 which is opened by depressing thethumb lever 7 which is disposed adjacentthe hand grip 8. Saidconduits 4 and 5 pass, through said hand grip 8 which may be made of wood, plastic, or other material and the ends of said conduits are provided with fittings 9 and 10 respectively, whereby the air conduit 4 may be connected to a source of air under pressure, such as the ordinary factory air pressure of psi. and the liquid conduit 5 may be connected to one end of a flexible hose or the like which has its other end immersed in the liquid to be sprayed. Said liquid is preferably contained in a tank or bucket, and the level of the liquid is preferably above the level of the conduits 4 and 5 when the spray gun is in normal use.

The airport 2 of said body 1 leads into one side of the transverse bore 11 'in said body, and the liquid port 3 passages 12 and 13. A screw 14 or like plug is employed to close the drilled passage 13.

Slipped into the transverse bore 11 of said body 1 is a cylindrical spray nozzle 15 which has a countersink 16 onone side thereof for receiving the point of a set screw 17 threaded into said body 1 whereby said nozzle is held against rotation and axial movement in said bore 11. Said nozzle 15 is formed. with two pairs of orifices 18-18, and 19-19 respectively leading from the air port 2 and liquid passage 13 into the coaxial, oppositely facing atomizing chambers or pockets 2!). The air and liquid streams from orifices 18 and 19 collide in such pockets 20 to break up the liquid into fine sprays, which, by reason of the air enteringfrom the operators side, causes the sprays to be directed away from the operatonas indicated by the dotted lines 21, even though said pockets 20 are coaxial and centered with respect to said nozzle 15.

When it is desired'to spray the dies, the spray gun is inserted between the separated dies and the operator presses the thumb lever 7 of valve 6 to open the air supply conduit 4, whereupon the air flows through orifices 18-18 into the respective pockets 20 and collides with the liquid entering said pockets 21B through orifices 19-19 to effect atomizing of the liquid. While the top and bottom dies are thus being simultaneously sprayed, the operator will usuallymove the spray gun back and forth horizontally and from side to side so as to thoroughly lubricate all of the die surfaces. The liquid may be any of the various types employed for this purpose such as, for example, a mixture of colloidal or deflocculated graphite and water, or oil.

In the event of clogging of the air or liquid orifices 18 or 19 in said nozzle 15, all that it is necessary to do is to loosen the screw 17 and to slip said nozzle out of body 1. A new nozzle 15 thus may be inserted within a fraction of a minute; or, if there is no spare nozzle 15, it is a simple matter to pass a wire or the like through the clogged orifices of the removed nozzle, and even this, including removal, cleaning, and re-insertion can be acplished in less than a minute.

It is to be understood that, in some instances, it may be desirable to install valve 6 in the liquid conduit 5 rather than in the air conduit 4. For example, it is sometimes desired to first blow out particles of metal or foreign matter with air alone from the dies before lubricating the same, and then, after the dies have been blown out with the air, the valve 6 will be operated to allow liquid to flow to the nozzle 15 for atomization. If desired, each conduit 4 and 5 may have a-valve 6 installed therein.

When the spray gun is not in use, it will ordinarily be hung from the press or from a suitable hanger in a position such that the nozzle 15 is at a higher level than the liquid to be sprayed. Thus, even with only one valve 6 i i i '2,980,5 38

(in air conduit 4), the liquid will not run out through the nozzle '15.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, the air and liquid conduits 4 and 5 may be soldered or otherwise joined together at the area 25 adjacent the spray nozzle end of the device. The ends of said conduits 4 and 5 are closed as by plugs 26.

Adjacent the end of each conduit 4 and 5 there are formed drilled holes 27 as best shown in Fig. 6, which are so arranged that the air and liquid streams issuing from the orifices 27 intersect each other to form a finely divided spray. These orifices 27 correspond to the orifices 18 and 19 as shown'in the Figs. 1-3 embodiment of the invention.

The spray nozzle 28 hereinshown comprises a body 29 which is formed with a pair of parallel drilled holes which leave a very thin web therebetween and into which drilled holes the ends of the conduits 4 and 5 are slipped so that the orifices 27 discharge into the open-ended transverse through bore 30 in said' body. The body 29 is split as shown at 29a, and when the screw 31 is tightened, said body will be tightly clamped on the end portion of the conduits 4 and 5.

If the all-liquid mixture is allowed to be discharged from the ends of the body nipples 32, the sprays will be of generally conical form, but if it is desired to provide fan-like sprays, then the fan-shaped members 33 may be brazed or soldered in place around the bosses 34 of the body 29. Said members 33 may be made from lengths of tubing having one end flattened to provide relatively narrow discharge slits 35 at the opposite ends of the spray device.

Accordingly, with a spray nozzle as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, fine fan-shaped sprays issue from the opposite slits 35, and thus the molds or dies may be efficiently and uniformly sprayed with lubricant, anti-sticking compound, or other liquid, both dies or molds being simultaneously sprayed when open.

It is to be understood that, While not shown herein, the liquid conduit may be provided with an adjustable needle valve or the like to accurately regulate the amount of liquid which is atomized when the lever 7 of the valve 6 is operated to turn on the air supply.

As in the case of the Figs. 1-3 construction, the Figs. 4-6 construction is easy to keep clean and easy to change from one nozzle to another. All that it is necessary to do is to loosen the screw 31 and slip oi? the nozzle 28 from the conduits 4 and 5. With the nozzle 28 thus removed, the orifices 27 are accessible for cleaning as with a wire or the like.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details prescribed, provided the features stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

We, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. A spray gun comprising air and liquid supply conduits, each consisting of a wall defining a passage, disposed in parallel longitudinally extending relation and each formed, adjacent one end thereof, with an orifice through the wall thereof arranged so that air and liquid streams issuing from such orifices collide; a spray nozzle to effect atomization of the liquid for discharge in spray form from opposite ends of said nozzle, said nozzle com prising a body formed with parallel bores into which the end portoins of said conduits extend and with an openended transverse bore intersecting such parallel bores in the region of such orifices.

2. The spray gun of claim 1 wherein each conduit has a second orifice forming with said first mentioned orifice a pair of divergent orifices to provide oppositely extending colliding streams of liquid and air in said openended transverse bore.

3. The spray gun of claim 1 wherein said body is removably secured on the end portions of said conduits to provide ready access to such orifices for cleaning the same.

4. The spray gun of claim 1 wherein said body is formed with-a split to render it contractible for effecting frictional engagement of the walls of such parallel bores with the end portions of said conduits, and wherein a screw in threaded engagement with said body is operative to so contract said body.

5. The spray gun of claim 1 wherein said body has secured, at its opposite ends, tubular members flattened to providerelatively narrow discharge slits for atomized liquid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,494,020 Riehm May 13, 1924 2,067,718 Martindale Jan. 12, 1937 2,482,260 Goddard Sept. 20, 1949 2,484,577 Murphy Oct. 11, 1949 2,821,437 Lesher Jan. 28, 1958 

